


In another life

by Akrois



Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, I think it was inspired by something I saw on Tumblr like years ago, Stand Alone, but I never got to write it all, poetry-ish?, this was supposed to be an addition to my Cousland general story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22478389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akrois/pseuds/Akrois
Summary: In another life,nothing bad ever happens.(A short piece about different lives for Lady Cousland and Ser Gilmore)
Relationships: Female Cousland/Ser Gilmore (Dragon Age)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	In another life

**Author's Note:**

> I am such a sucker for the "childhood friends to lovers to power couple" trope. So when I saw Ser Gilmore I was like... why not.  
> And playing Dragon Age with the Ser Gilmore mod just made it worse.  
> So, here's some angsty shit for y'all.  
> enjoy

In another life,

nothing bad ever happens.

We walk our paths together. Sometimes we separate, but our hearts and thoughts tie us to each other, no matter how far away we are.

I wear a veil.

You wear a suit of armor.

 _You take my breath away_ , you say.

 _Thank you_ , I say, _you are rather fetching yourself_.

You laugh and we kiss in front of a cheering crowd.

We grow grey together.

We raise a gaggle of children. Smart and beautiful and daring. Ginger, all of them.

In another life,

there’s no running away.

I hold your hand and hold the line.

We fight side to side, knees heavy and mouths full of blood (I wonder how much is mine, how much is theirs).

We fall side by side.

I reach for you, but my eyes close too soon.

I was only an inch away, but _Maker_ did it feel like an ocean.

At least, I think, I get to see you last.

At least, I think, we get to be together.

In another life,

we never met.

You live a long life in your land, down south. You marry a pretty girl with dimples and flowers in her hair.

She makes you happy. You never regret not traveling north.

I marry a young noble from Antiva. His smile is like the sun and I watch as he withers away in the cold.

I always wonder if he resents me for taking him away from his home. I never ask him.

Our houses tied, we prosper, a kingdom made of longships cutting the waves, of long cuts of silk, of long knives hiding behind our backs.

You and the flower girl smile at your grandchildren.

I and the Antivan boy only have a child. He looks at her like she’s a most precious gem.

You sit at the fireplace and tell stories of knights and heroes. Your wife sits next to you.

I sail the seas and bring presents when I come back. They laugh and hug me and I feel happy.

We both have good lives.

In another life,

you come with me.

I ordered you. And you followed my order, precious soldier, my precious knight in shining armor.

We travel. You spar with Alistair, sing with Leliana.

Sten scares you.

You get jealous of Zevran, seething when he braids my hair.

He says we should settle this with a nice threesome. I laugh.

You don’t speak to me for three days. It’s ironic, almost.

Zevran speaks to you, tells you of kind hands and gestures of friendship and nightmares that leave heroes shaking.

 _Love is important_ , I say that night, in the darkness of our tent; _but so are friends_.

We will marry once the Archdemon is gone.

For now, we fight

and we love.

In another life,

we’re never really friends.

You are a servant, even as you wear your Silverite and swing your sword.

I’m a Lady, even as I tumble around in the mud and hunt around the hills.

Life in the south awaits you. A crown awaits me.

I don’t think about silly things like love. I marry a noble. I lead my people. I’m just and firm.

You join the army and become a general. You marry a girl from a good house. You are brave and kind.

We meet each other, ever so often. We smile and exchange greetings.

It leaves a sour taste in both our mouths.

 _Oh, what could have been_ , says your mother to mine.

 _Oh, what could have been_ , says my father to yours.

We smile and you kiss my hand.

 _Such silly thoughts_ , we say to each other.

In this life,

you die and I’m not there.

You die and I’m far away.

Your body burns on the pyre.

The flame paints the sky.

I see the red haze every time I close my eyes.

I fight and bleed and **win**.

I wear a crown. I’m firm and just.

I build a kingdom of longships, of long cuts of silk, of long knives and sweet smiles.

I lose a friend. I was always a Lady, he was always a little orphan boy.

I put a crown on his head and watch him wither away.

We met, every now and then.

We exchange greetings, he kisses my hand.

It leaves a sour taste in both our mouths.

At times I wonder about what could have been.

 _If_ I had taken that hand, _if_ I had sailed farther away, _If_ I had taken the chance.

Such silly toughs.

One day, I will come back to you. On a ship of gold and silk.

And I will take you away.

And we will be together.

For now, I fight.

I fight and I love.


End file.
